Home of a mother, wife, writer

First is Kait Nolan’s opening post for the final round of RoW80(the “writing challenge that knows you have a life). She discusses some of the myths about plotting. Reading it, I may have wanted to shout “hell yeah”. Because even though I plot out stories, it’s not always what people seem to think. I don’t have full detailed outlines. Sometimes I go with a very basic outline. And I hardly ever stick exactly to the outline. Things change as I write. And very often the characters end up surprising me. But, I need that sort of road map to get started. I certainly wouldn’t go on a trip without having at least an idea of where I was headed. And I don’t always plot the same way. I’ve used the snowflake method, I’ve used James Scott Bell’s from the middle/mirror moment method & his signpost scenes. I’ve used Cathy Yardley’s Rock Your Plot. And I usually end up combining all of the methods into one, using what works best for me.

And last week, Ava Jae announced she had a book deal. I’m very excited for her. And can’t wait to read the book.

And this morning I read Elizabeth Spann Craig’s on setting the bar low. I know this seems like backwards advice, and is often some I have a hard time following. I’m always afraid if I set my goals too low, I’ll feel like I’m getting nothing done. Instead, I tend to set them too high. And then feel like there’s no way I’ll ever get everything done. Yet when you set a smaller goal, you feel more accomplished, and very often, end up getting even more done.

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Comments on: "Monday Mentions: Plotting, News, and Goals" (2)

I can testify that setting the bar low makes it much easier to stick to something. If I set too many goals for myself, I feel overwhelmed, and don’t do any of them. One or two is my limit, three at the outset (that’s what I’m doing this round of ROW80).